Following the announcement of a general election for the 8th June, new research from one of the leading peer to peer (P2P) lending platforms Crowdstacker, reveals more than half (54 per cent) of investors want to throw their weight behind supporting British business this tax year (2017/18).

The research, which explored investors’ intentions for the year ahead, finds that the most popular sectors include manufacturing, retail, and entertainment and leisure.

It also reveals that investing in British businesses is more important to millennials than any other age group, with 63 per cent of 18-34yr old investors keen to support home-grown enterprises. This compares to 51 per cent in the 35-54 age category, and 49 per cent for those who are 55 and over.

Nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of all investors also said it’s important to be involved in where their money is being invested, and nearly a third (29 per cent) want to feel they are making their own decisions.

The recently launched Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) enables investors to support British businesses by lending money to them directly, and do so whilst earning inflation beating interest rates, without paying tax on this income.

Yet despite this, just one per cent of investors are aware of the IFISA, and only four per cent of potential ISA investment is earmarked for this product in the coming tax year.

Crowdstacker, the first P2P lender to launch the IFISA has seen an inflow of over £1 million a month from investors, with an average investment of just over £12k per investor across all ages from 19 to retirement and have paid more than £250k in interest payments to date.

Karteek Patel, CEO and co-founder of Crowdstacker, comments, ‘There is a growing appetite for investors, and particularly millennials, to support British businesses at a time when businesses continue to struggle to obtain finance through traditional methods.

‘The P2P model helps unlock investment for businesses looking to borrow so they can expand, diversify or develop. We have offered lending opportunities through our IFISA range to sectors including property, entertainment, and leisure and have seen an inflow of more than £1 million a month. To date returns have been in the region of five-seven per cent.

‘As we enter the new tax year, and the ISA limit has gone up to £20,000, we need to ensure investors are aware of the growing range of ISA products available to them including the IFISA, and in turn help the continued development of home grown businesses.’